Wrapping set and package formed therefrom

ABSTRACT

A wrapping set for packaging books or the like, comprising inner and outer panels, each said panel being provided with inner and outer scored lines defining central, side and flap portions when said panels are folded at said lines. The inner panel is folded about the package contents, and the outer panel is then folded about said inner panel in a direction transverse to the following direction of said inner panel, and is adhered to the inner panel. The width of the outer panel exceeds the separation of inner scored lines on the inner panel, whereby the lateral edges of said folded outer panel protrude beyond the folded inner panel to provide a buffer for protecting the package contents.

Unite States Patent Freakes 1 May 30, 1972 {54] WRAPPING SET AND PACKAGE 987,958 3/1911 Clenny et a1. ..229/23 B FORK {ED THEREFROM 3,445,051 5/1969 Goldman ....229/23 AB 2,703,645 3/1965 Scrimshaw ..229/40 [72] Inventor: Anthony Freakes, Leonia, NJ.

[73] Assignee: Genera] Corrugated Machinery Co., Inc., Primary Exammer joseph Leclair Palisades Park Assistant Examiner-Stephen Marcus Attorney-Samuelson & Jacob [22] Filed: May 22, 1970 21 App]. No.: 39,808 [57] ABSTRACT A wrapping set for packaging books or the like, comprising [52] U S Cl 229/23 AB 206/46 FR 206/65 B inner and outer panels, each said panel being provided with 229/23 inner and outer scored lines defining central, side and flap [51] Int Cl B65d 5/34 865d 85/70 portions when said panels are folded at said lines. The inner [58] Fieid 23 A 3 AB 23 BT panel is folded about the package contents, and the outer 206/4 FR 2 1 panel is then folded about said inner panel in a direction transverse to the following direction of said inner panel, and is ad- [56] References Cited hered to the inner panel. The width of the outer panel exceeds the separation of inner scored lines on the inner panel, UNITED STATES PATENTS whereby the lateral edges of said folded outer panel protrude beyond the folded inner panel to provide a buffer for protectllsilglgrlzi ..229/23 A i h package contents, 2,387,482 10 1945 Vineberg ..229/23 B 1 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHAYBO I972 $666,166

SHEET 10F 3 Fig l Fig.2-

INVENTOR. fi/vrmwy Fem/(5 PATENTEBMAYw I972 3.666166 SHEET 2 OF 3 1N VENTOR. ANTHO/d FREE/(E5 WRAPPING SET AND PACKAGE FORMED THEREFROM This invention relates generally to packaging devices and methodology, and more specifically relates to wrapping sets for packaging books or the like and to the packages formed thereby.

Shipping of books and similarly configured subject matter require ready availability of a packaging device enabling simple, efi'ective and expeditious preparation of the materials for mailing, shipping, or other distribution processes. It is not only important to such users that the packaging device be both employable by unskilled individuals and susceptible to processing by mechanized equipment, but it is equally important that the r sulting package provide protection for the contents sufficient to prevent damage in the course of ordinary carrier handling.

In accordance with the foregoing, it may be regarded as an object of the present invention to provide a simple, two-piece packaging set which may be readily assembled by a user to form an effective, highly protective package for books or similar materials.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple two-piece wrapping set that may be employed by a user to wrap books or the like by simple manual techniques, but which is equally adaptable for processing by mechanical equipment.

It is a yet further object of the invention to provide a two piece wrapping set utilizable by means of simple manual or automated handling for wrapping books or materials of similar configuration and a variety of thicknesses.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a twopiece wrapping set which has a minimum of waste of material.

Now, in accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects, and others, as will become apparent in the course of the ensuing specification, are achieved by way of a twopiece wrapping set, comprising an inner and an outer panel formed of cardboard, paperboard, corrugated board or any combination thereof. Each said panel, generally rectangular in form, is provided with pairs of inner and outer scored lines which serve to define central, side, and flap portions when said panels are folded at the scored lines. The inner panel is folded about the package contents, and the outer panel is folded about the inner panel in a direction transverse to the folding direction of the inner panel. Sealant material, preferably of the dual adhesive type for self sealing, is preferably present on appropriate surfaces of the two panels whereby sealing between such surfaces may be effected to close the resulting package by merely pressing the surfaces together. The dimensions of the panels are such that the width of the outer panel exceeds the distance between the inner scored lines of the inner panel, so that the lateral edges of the folded outer panel protrude beyond the folded inner panel to provide a buffer for protecting the package contents. In one embodiment, additional pairs of scored lines are present on the panels between the inner and the outer pairs; in the folded panels such additional lines enable variation in the dimension of the side portions thereof, to permit contents of varying thicknesses to be accommodated.

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated, by way of example, in the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a plan view of an embodiment of a two-piece wrapping set of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view depicting the joining of the inner and outer panels of FIG. 1 in the initial phase of preparing a package;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are isometric views, depicting the folding of the panels of FIGS. 1 and 2 into a finished package;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are plan views illustrating a further embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are plan views of panels constituting yet another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of a package formed from the panels of FIGS. 7 and 8, and illustrates how such panels enable the use of a sealing band therewith.

In FIG. I a plan view is shown of a two-piece wrapping set in accordance with the invention. As seen therein the set 3 consists of two generally rectangular panels 2 and 4. Each said panel is typically formed of corrugated board, chip board, paper board, card board or similar materials, or may be formed of combinations of these materials. For reasons that will shortly be evident, panel 2 may hereinafter be referred to as the inner panel, and panel 4 as the outer" panel.

Inner panel 2 is seen to have formed therein a pair of inner scored lines 6 and outer scored lines 8. Such scored lines extend across the width of panel 2 and comprise weakened zones in the panel at which folds may be readily made. The scored lines serve further to define in panel 2 a central portion 18, side portions 20 and 22 and flap portions 24 and 26. Central portion 18 bears a sealant material 14 thereon, which is shown in the present embodiment to cover essentially all of such central portion. Sealant stripes 16 are also present on each of the end flaps 24 and 26. The sealant material may be of the cohesive type requiring moistening or the like to render it adherent or preferably may be a so-called cohesive" substance, whereby self-sealing occurs when the portion of panel 2 bearing such material contacts a surface bearing similar cohesive material.

Outer panel 4, like panel 2, carries a pair of inner and outer scored lines 10 and 12. Such lines serve in the course of folding to thereby define in panel 4 a central portion 28, side portions 30 and 32, and flap portions 34 and 36. Central portion 28 carries a sealant material 38, which again may be cohesive in nature; material 38 is seen not to extend to lateral edges 44 and 46 of panel 4, but to terminate instead a short distance therefrom. Stripes 40 and 42 of sealant material are also present on the edges of flaps 34 and 36.

In FIG. 2 a plan view is shown depicting joining of the inner and outer panels in the initial phase of preparing a package. As seen therein the inner panel 2 is turned over to present its sealant-bearing face to panel 4, positioned with its long dimension transverse to the long dimension of outer panel 4, and is pressed against the panel 4 so that adherence occurs in the area where sealant is present on both panels. It will now be observed that the width W of panel 2 is such that lateral edges 50 and 52 of panel 2 approximately overlap, or fall slightly within, the inner scored lines 10 of panel 4. That is to say that the width W is approximately equal to the separation of the inner scored lines 10.

The isometric views of FIGS. 3 and 4 show the final steps in formation of a package 54. In these illustrations, specific package contents are not shown, but typically a book or the like will be present within the space 56 (FIG. 4). As seen in FIG. 3, inner panel 2 is first folded at its scored lines about the package contents, after which the side portions 30 and 32 of outer panel 4 are folded against the lateral edges 50 and 52 of panel 2 and the flaps 34 and 36 are folded over flaps 24 and 26. Sealing may then be effected by pressing the stripes 40 and 42 into contact with the stripes 16.

It will be seen from FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 that the width W of outer panel 4 substantially exceeds the distance between the inner scored lines 6 of inner panel 2. As a result of such a construction, the lateral edges 44 and 46 protrude substantial distances beyond the sides 20 and 22 of the folded inner panel 2, and thereby provide a buffer for protecting the package contents during shipping and handling.

It will be appreciated that all of the formative operations thus far described are very simple in nature and can obviously be expeditiously carried out either by straightforward manual folding etc., or by similar operations effected by mechanized, automatic equipment.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 a second embodiment of the invention is shown. FIG. 5 essentially corresponds to FIG. 1, previously described, with the important distinction that the panels 53 and 54 now incorporate at the side portions 56, 58, 60 and 62, pairs of additional scored lines 64, 66, 68 and 70 between the inner and outer pairs of scored lines 6, 8, l0 and 12 present on the earlier described panel. These additional scored lines enable the packer to vary the width or sides 20, 22, 30 and 32 (FIG. 3) to accommodate packaging of books or materials of various thicknesses. It should be noted that the adhesive and/or additional scored lines shown in FIG. 6 may be used with the embodiment of FIGS. 14.

FIG. 6 also serves to illustrate that ordinary wet adhesive material 72 may be applied in simple spot patterns to join the two parts of the wrapping set such as that depicted rather than in the cohesive layers or stripes shown in prior embodiments. The wet glue is applied to the wrapping set of FIGS. 5 and 6 to seal it after the contents are inserted.

FIGS. 7 through 9 show an embodiment of the invention adapted for use with a sealing band or similar package etainer. The panels 71 and 73 shown therein are essentially similar to the prior-described embodiments except for the inclusion of cutout portions 74 and 76 extending from the lateral edges 86 of outer panel 73 toward the center thereof. As seen in FIG. 8, again showing the inner and outer panels being joined in the initial phase of package formation, the inner edges 84 of cutout portions 74 extend, when panels 71 and 73 are adjoined, to approximately the inner scored lines 82 of inner panel 71. Upon completion of the folding process, it will be seen from FIG. 9 that the cutout portions 74 align with cutout portions 76 to provide ways for passing a band 80 about the package 78. In consequence of the aforementioned depth of the cutout portion, the band 80 is brought into snug contact with sides 83 and 85 of folded panel 71 whereby a sturdy and compact package is produced.

While the present invention has been particularly described in terms of specific embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the subjoined claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A two piece package for wrapping books and the like,

comprising:

a generally rectangular inner panel having symmetrically formed pairs of inner and outer scored lines defining a central portion, side and flap portions, the package contents resting on said central portion and said side and flap portions being folded thereabout; and

a generally rectangular outer panel having symmetrically formed pairs of inner and outer scored lines defining a central portion, side and flap portions, said outer panel being folded about said inner panel in a direction transverse to the folding direction of said inner panel, the separation of the inner scored lines on said outer panel being approximately equal to the width of said inner panel whereby said folded inner panel is snugly enclosed within said folded outer panel so that the central portions of the two panels contact each other, the width of said outer panel being substantially greater than the separation of the inner scored lines on said inner panel whereby the lateral edges of said folded outer panel protrude beyond the folded sides of said inner panel to provide a buffer for said package contents;

the contacting central portions and the contacting flap portions of said inner and outer panels bearing sealant material for effecting a seal between the contacting faces;

pairs of aligned rectangular cutouts formed in said lateral edges of said folded outer panel, said cutouts extending from said edges to the folded sides of said inner panel, and a band passing through said cutouts and snugly encircling the flaps of said outer panel and the said sides of said inner panel.

* i I! III 

1. A two piece package for wrapping books and the like, comprising: a generally rectangular inner panel having symmetrically formed pairs of inner and outer scored lines defining a central portion, side and flap portions, the pacKage contents resting on said central portion and said side and flap portions being folded thereabout; and a generally rectangular outer panel having symmetrically formed pairs of inner and outer scored lines defining a central portion, side and flap portions, said outer panel being folded about said inner panel in a direction transverse to the folding direction of said inner panel, the separation of the inner scored lines on said outer panel being approximately equal to the width of said inner panel whereby said folded inner panel is snugly enclosed within said folded outer panel so that the central portions of the two panels contact each other, the width of said outer panel being substantially greater than the separation of the inner scored lines on said inner panel whereby the lateral edges of said folded outer panel protrude beyond the folded sides of said inner panel to provide a buffer for said package contents; the contacting central portions and the contacting flap portions of said inner and outer panels bearing sealant material for effecting a seal between the contacting faces; pairs of aligned rectangular cutouts formed in said lateral edges of said folded outer panel, said cutouts extending from said edges to the folded sides of said inner panel, and a band passing through said cutouts and snugly encircling the flaps of said outer panel and the said sides of said inner panel. 